


Promises

by DarkerThanDisney (Kairyn)



Series: Son of Jafar [11]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Gen, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Isle of the Lost (Disney) is a Terrible Place, M/M, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 03:59:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17237000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kairyn/pseuds/DarkerThanDisney
Summary: Aziz has some questions and makes a promise.





	Promises

**Author's Note:**

> As a sort of an apology for the delay last chapter of In the Rough and the likely delay for the next chapter... have a little one shot. I wanted this to go a little longer but I didn't like how the Shovel talk between Aziz and Harry flowed so Imma work on that some more before posting it separate.

The weight room was a bizarre place, but Jay could be assured that most of the time he would be left alone there. Nobody messed with him when he was in the middle of a workout as he tended to get a little bit lost in everything and people also tended to get black eyes when they startled him out of whatever mental zone he managed to get himself into. At first, Coach had to go through what the heck a weight room was and how to use it with an almost embarrassing amount of detail for Jay to really get it. The idea of a whole room made dedicated for people to get stronger was still kind of strange, but since Auradonians didn't routinely fight in the streets and go climbing over rooftops to keep in shape, Jay figured this was their morally upright -more boring- substitute. But with nothing more than lifting huge pieces of metal over and over and pushing heavy parts of machines around, Jay found his mind wandering probably a bit too easily. Coach said he should pay attention to not hurt himself, but Jay didn't think that was likely. Jay knew how to not hurt himself.

Jay had to have been lost in what he was doing for at least forty minutes when he turned to grab some water and noticed he was being watched. Since he liked to be alone to avoid accidentally punching someone in the face, Jay tended to work out in the early morning or late evenings, making it even more unusual to have an audience. Harry Hook was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed and his typical grin on his face. Jay lifted a hand to the wire of his earbuds and gently pulled them out. "Harry."

Harry's grin widened. "Hey, Hot Stuff," he greeted. "I don' know wha' this room is... bu' I like it."

Jay rolled his eyes. "It's not here just so you can stare at me, pervert."

"Ah, I think tha's exactly why its here."

Jay knew better than to rise to Harry's bait. "Why're you here, Harry?" he asked before turning to slide the pin or whatever in place so that the machine was safe again. Coach had been very adamant that he needed to put those things in place when he wasn't using a machine. Jay didn't get it -like most Auradon rules- but it was simple enough to follow.

"Ya hear the news?" Harry asked.

"What news?" Jay asked back.

"Bennie Boy is lettin' us stay here," Harry said as his eyes wandered over Jay's sweaty body and lingered. "Said no point in sendin' us back ta the Isle jus' ta bring us back..." he added although he sounded incredibly distracted.

"My eyes are a little higher there, Harry," Jay drawled as he unscrewed the top of his water.

"I know, an' they're pretty an' all, bu' I don' wanna look at yer eyes righ' now," Harry said, his head tilting to the side. "I think I like ya in outfits like tha'," he mused as he eyed the way the loose gym shorts hung off of his ex. Jay certainly had never worn shorts on the Isle -no matter how hot it got in the summer.

"What'dya want, Harry?" Jay asked.

Harry shrugged and pushed off from where he'd been leaning against. "I was jus' explorin' and came across the best thing ever."

"The best thing ever, huh?" Jay asked before taking a long drink and then closing the top of his bottle.

Harry nodded. "You all sweaty is one a my favorite things," he said with that maniacal grin lighting up his face.

Jay rolled his eyes and turned away to a different machine. "Pervert."

"Ya used ta like it when I was," Harry said.

"There's a lot of things I used to like, Harry."

"Ah, come on, gorgeous... don' be so cold," Harry whined, and Jay easily imagined the other teen pouting.

Jay adjusted the weight on the machine he was about to use. "Pouting doesn't suit you, Harry."

Suddenly, Harry was in front of him leaning against the machine. "Well, ya always could cheer me up," he said.

"Sex isn't going to fix us, Harry," Jay said as he slammed the pin into a heavier weight.

Harry's smile fell just a bit. "... I know. Bu' it'd still be fun wouldn' it?"

Jay paused. "Maybe," he murmured. "But just because it's fun doesn't mean it's a good idea."

"Alrigh'... bu' answer me somethin'?" Harry asked. Jay shrugged. It would depend on the question if he'd answer it or not. Harry had shifted closer at some point, and Jay was suddenly far too aware of how close they were standing. "Did I at least make ya happy 'fore I screwed everythin' up?"

That wasn't a question that Jay had been anticipating. He hadn't thought that Harry would have put too much importance on what they'd had. And he certainly wouldn't have thought that Harry would worry about something like that. Jay licked his lips anxiously as he tried to decide if he wanted to answer the question and -if he did- what his answer would even be. After a moment, Jay nodded ever so slightly. "... yeah."

Harry's expression changed to one that Jay hadn't ever really seen before and was a little afraid to try and identify. "Then I really ain't givin' up on us, Gorgeous. 'Cause I was too."

"You have Uma," Jay pointed out.

"Are ya sayin' yer gonna jus' let Uma have somethin' tha' you want?" Harry asked. "Doesn' sound like ya at all, Jay."

"What makes you think I want you back?" Jay asked.

Harry was quiet for a minute. "Call it pirate's instinct," he said.

"Didn't think pirates had particularly strong instincts," Jay said. "Regular old stink sure, but not instinct."

Harry grinned at the joke despite -or perhaps because of- it's utterly terrible quality. "Ass."

"You seem to have an obsession with that," Jay said.

Harry's grin grew, and he leaned closer. "Specially when it has ta do with ya..." They were almost close enough by this time to brush against each other.

Suddenly someone cleared their throat loudly, and Jay straightened fully again. He hadn't even realized he'd leaned closer and was a little annoyed with himself for doing so. Harry frowned and looked past Jay. "Ah... hi, Fake Jay," he said sounding somewhat disappointed.

Jay looked over his shoulder and saw Aziz standing in the doorway with a frown. "Aziz."

"Jay, can I talk to you?" Aziz asked. He was still frowning, and if Jay didn't know any better, he'd say that his brother was glaring at Harry. Jay wasn't sure why Aziz would have that expression but nodded and went over to where the other Arabian was at the doorway. Aziz took Jay by the arm and pulled him a few steps down the hall. "What is between the two of you anyway?"

Jay blinked several times very fast. "What?"

"You and Harry Hook. There's some history there right?" Aziz questioned. Jay was unsure about this whole topic and just shrugged. He didn't particularly want to get into all of the tangled history between them. Jay wasn't sure how he felt about it enough to explain it. "Jay... I want you to be straight with me here... what exactly is going on between you and that guy?"

"Nothing," Jay said.

"Jay... the guy gropes people -who he thinks is you- in the middle of a street fight. At the very least the guy's unhinged," Aziz said with real concern.

Jay sighed heavily. "He's not unhinged, Aziz... a little eccentric bu-"

"Seriously, Jay?"

"Aziz, really, it's not a big deal. I can more than handle Harry," Jay told the other Arabian. The day that Jay couldn't handle the other Isle Teen was the day that Jay cut his hair.

"He molests you in the street," Aziz hissed.

Jay rolled his eyes at the dramatic phrasing. "You're being melodramatic, Aziz. Besides, he molested _you_ in the street."

"Like that's better?!" Aziz demanded, to which Jay just shrugged. There was a moment of silence as Aziz just stared at his brother. Then Aziz's eyes widened. "Jay... Jay, do you actually _like_ him?" Jay had to admit he was caught off guard by the question and did not in any way have an answer prepared. That lack of immediate answer seemed to _be_ answer enough for Aziz, though. "Oh, Allah... but... you flirt with every girl in school!"

"And I would flirt with every guy too if you Auradonians didn't have sticks up your asses," Jay hissed in annoyance. "Just because you all are terrified of dicks doesn't mean I am." Aziz stared in surprise and Jay pushed past him. Jay did not have time to deal with how he most likely had driven away his brother _immediately_. He should have known things wouldn't go well.

Jay didn't get more than a step before Aziz caught his arm. "Jay, wait! It's not like that," he said quickly. "I'm not- I'm just surprised! When I think of you I just... with a guy doesn't really come to mind. I never thought you were gay or bi or... whatever."

Jay stared at Aziz for a moment. He'd never really seen Aziz looking so uncomfortable. Jay sighed and pulled his arm free to run a hand through his hair. "Listen... it's not being gay or anything. It's growing up on the Isle. Every kid on the Isle just... you take the good feelings wherever you can. Boy, girl, one person, lots of people, or whatever. It's an Isle thing. Even the most sheltered Isle kid has had... experiences with people with the same equipment. They may like it fine or better or hardly at all, but we don't turn it down."

"And... you and Harry?"

"Why does it matter?" Jay asked with a heavy sigh. He still didn't want to discuss that situation with Aziz who had lived such a completely different life than Jay had. Jay couldn't imagine the Prince being able to understand it.

"Because he worries me," Aziz said. "He's like... bipolar or something."

Jay shook his head. "He plays it up to unnerve people, but he's not that unstable. He's not anyone you need to worry about," Jay assured his brother.

"Uh, no, no you'd be wrong there. He's exactly the sort of person I have to worry about," Aziz contradicted. "It looked like you were just about to kiss the guy who -I'll repeat this as often as I have to- molests people in the street!"

"He doesn't molest 'people' so stop harping on it," Jay said in annoyance. "And who I do and don't kiss really doesn't concern you."

"Jay. I'm your brother. I'm always going to be concerned about you. Best if you just get used to it now," Aziz said.

Jay sighed heavily. "Not that it is any of your business, Aziz... but I'm not actually looking to start up with Harry again, alright? So drop it." Aziz was still looking at him with suspicion but then nodded. "Thank you," Jay breathed before going to collect his things.

Harry was still in the weight room as Jay grabbed his water bottle and bag. "E'erythin' alright?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, it's fine. Later, Harry. Welcome to Auradon," Jay muttered.

"Not the kinda welcome I was hopin' for..."

"Well too bad," Jay said. What slight amusement he'd been getting from the verbal sparring with Harry had dried up under Aziz's questions. Jay made his way back to the room he shared with Carlos and decided to see if the dog-loving teen would be interested in helping Jay maybe decipher his homework. That was the good and responsible thing to do, right?

Carlos was surprised at the request but agreed to help Jay. It took a good three hours and calling on Evie and Mal to help, but they managed to work their way through Jay's built up homework. Jay's head hurt something fierce after trying so hard to understand things that were so far outside of his normal that he decided to just skip lunch and relax in his room for the rest of the day. Carlos had gotten some updates or hacked games or something that Jay could play around with.

Jay hadn't really forgotten about the incident in the weight room, but he'd put it all to the very back of his mind up until Aziz came by later on in the afternoon. Carlos had gone to walk Dude not ten minutes earlier, and Jay had to wonder if his brother had been just _waiting_ for Jay to be alone. Aziz nodded to the empty room behind Jay, "Can I come in?"

"Is this going to be awkward?" Jay asked with a heavy sigh.

"Probably," Aziz admitted.

Again Jay sighed, but he stepped back from the door to allow Aziz inside. Best to get things over with sooner opposed to later, he thought. "Great. That's what I wanted this afternoon..." he muttered more to himself than Aziz.

Aziz sat down on Jay's bed but didn't immediately start talking. Instead, he just sat there and seemed to be thinking hard. Jay waited only a few feet away. "I... What went on between you and Harry?" Aziz finally asked. "The others said you used to get along and now you don't? But that they didn't know why..."

Jay thought about all of the things in the situation that Aziz just would not possibly understand and mentally censored and refit details to make sense to someone from Auradon. "We... dated, I guess?" Jay said uneasily. They hadn't really but as Mal had pointed out, 'boyfriends' was probably the best equivalent. "Then we had a really nasty fight. Got physical because all fights on the Isle do. It involved some lies and assumptions and probably a bit of insecurites on both sides. That was the end of most of it though we still got physical once and a while... he wants to get back with me. I don't. That's about it," Jay rattled off as devoid of emotion as he could. There was so much... more, but Aziz couldn't comprehend that.

"Are you sure you don't?" Aziz asked. "Because I saw you in the weight room and you didn't look like you hated being close to him." Jay felt heat crawling up his neck. "In fact, it looked like you were about to kiss him."

Jay sighed and turned away. How in the hell was he supposed to explain the tangled ball of history and emotions and just... _mess_ that was in his head? "Harry is... complicated, alright?" Jay asked as he went to the window to look out there instead of at Aziz. "He was, I guess still is, a lot of things to me. We get each other and..." Jay really didn't really want to admit this to Aziz, but maybe it would help his brother understand why Jay wanted him to back off. "We were happy, Aziz. All the shit we went through on the Isle was still there, but we could be happy with each other. Only for a few hours or so at a time but you don't get how important that was for us. It ended like crap because the Isle destroys just... everything worth having, but it's not like I can just forget the one person in that hell hole that I might have actually-" Jay caught himself just then and shut that thought down. It was still far too dangerous.

There was an intensely awkward silence between the two brothers. Aziz studied Jay's back with wide eyes as he absorbed what he'd heard to fit it in with what Jay had said earlier at the weight room. "... you love him," Aziz realized aloud a few moments later. Though he'd barely even whispered it, Jay flinched hard.

"You don't love on the Isle," Jay corrected. "You have weaknesses..."

That damn awkward silence was back, and Aziz slowly got to his feet. He walked over to where Jay was standing and put a hand to his brother's shoulder. "I'm sorry..."

"... yeah."

"And you said he wants you back now?" Aziz asked. Jay nodded his head, still refusing to look back at Aziz. "Well, if you do take him back... he hurts you, and I'll kill him."

Jay was caught a little off guard at that and couldn't help but laugh. "You'd have to get in line, I think," he said wryly. "Mal's already promised that."

"Well, between all of us I'm sure his body wouldn't even be found. A desert is a big place," Aziz said as casually as if he threatened murder on a daily basis.

"All of you can rest easy," Jay said. "I'm not getting back with Harry."

Aziz shrugged. "People tend to give people they love second chances is all," he said. "I'm not saying you will... just that if you do, I'll be watching him."

Jay rolled his eyes. "Such the hero," he drawled, although he was both amused and touched. He was still sure it was all unnecessary threats, but they were comforting all the same.


End file.
